Sydney reverses imports with local train manufacturing project

The NSW Government has committed to begin procuring replacements for the Tangara fleet of suburban passenger trains by March 2027, with a 50 percent domestic manufacturing target to be included in the contract.

The replacement fleet will be the first to buck the pattern of overseas acquisitions of trains, trams and ferries by the former coalition government, and is part of a local procurement pipeline planned to extend out to the 2050s.

In 10 years NSW imported more than 2,000 rail carriages, reducing local economic growth, and local company and employee opportunity.

Importing is widely seen as a disaster, with poor design and quality leading to the purchase of trains that don’t fit in tunnels and ferries that don’t fit under bridges, among other faults.

Through Tangara replacements and the long term fleet pipeline, the NSW Government wants to leave a strong community legacy of secure and skilled rail manufacturing jobs and apprenticeships in a revitalised NSW and Australian rail manufacturing industry.

The 55 x 8-car Tangara sets entered service in 1988, and today represent about a quarter of Sydney Trains’ suburban passenger fleet – but they are showing their age experiencing more faults and being taken out of service for repair more often, leading to poor reliability and higher operating and maintenance costs.

According to an announcement: “The NSW Government has committed to commence procuring a replacement fleet for Tangara by 2027, with a 50 percent local content target in the contract and 30 percent local content tender evaluation criteria to capture how NSW-based businesses and jobs are engaged in designing, building, and maintaining the fleet.

“NSW has one of the strongest rail manufacturing pipelines in Australia.

“Beyond Tangara, the Millenium and OScar fleets need replacing in the 2040s, and the Waratah’s in the 2050s.

“Through Tangara and future fleet replacements, Transport for NSW and Sydney Trains are looking to establish a sustainable rolling stock manufacture pipeline and foster collaboration across the supply chain to unlock new opportunities for local rail manufacturing businesses.”

Transport for NSW and Sydney Trains have commenced early project planning and development for the Tangara replacement fleet, including preparation of a business case, which will be supported by ongoing industry engagement over the next couple of years.

More information from the ICN Gateway can be found here.

Further reading:
NSW imports trains that don’t fit tunnels, now ferries that won’t go under bridges
NSW buys 2,000 rail cars from overseas in 10 years

Picture: Transport for NSW/Tangaras on the Sydney rail system